Garden To Visit In Srinagar 2023 | Ahanger HOBO

1 Pari Mahal “Palace of the Fairies”

The most beautiful of Kashmir's present-day gardens for the gorgeous view that takes over Dal Lake and surrounds it. A pleasant one-hour walk from the botanical garden that lies just off Boulevard Road. Pari Mahal was created by the philosopher Prince Dara Shikooh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jehan (who also commissioned Akhund Mullah). Dara Shikooh was obsessed with the idea of the similarities between Hinduism and Islam, "the meeting place of two oceans", he called it. He believed in the unity of being and of religion stating that Hinduism and Islam were twins, "hairs on the same head" and that there was no essential disagreement on the nature of their understanding of God. This tolerant attitude was to cost Dara his crown. This garden was not for temporal pleasure alone but as a place for learning, he built it for his tutor Akhund Mullah Shah so he could hold discussions with religious divines of all faiths. On the grounds, there was a school for Sufism and one for Astrology. 

2 Shalimar Garden “The Garden of Love)”

In the old days, Shalimar was a villa built in the 2nd Century where one Kashmiri King Pravarasena II used to stay when he went to visit his guru at Harwan. Praversena II founded the city of Srinagar and ruled Kashmir from 79 AD to 139 AD. After his reign, it fell into ruin, but the village there kept the name, Shalimar. In 1619 the sensualist Emperor Jehangir ordered a garden to be laid out at this spot for his love, Nur Jehan "light of the world". It is said that Emperor Jehangir and his wife Nur Jahan were so enamored of Kashmir that during summer they moved to Srinagar with their full court entourage from Delhi. Shalimar Bagh was their imperial summer residence and the Royal Court. They crossed the arduous snowy passes of the Pir Panjal mountain range on elephants to reach Srinagar.

3 Nishat Garden” The Garden of Pleasure”

In l633 by the brother of NurJehan, Asaf Khan invited his brother-in-law Emperor Jehangir to a fancy banquet to be held in the marble pavilion of the garden. The emperor became jealous of the beauty of the garden and ordered the water supply to be cut off. One by one the fountains went dry and the garden beds began to wilt and die. The loyal gardener could not bear to see his master and his beautiful flowers so dejected and secretly turned the water supply back on. Furious, Jehangir sent for the gardener. The gardener stood stoically for his actions, saying he simply could not bear to see such beauty die. The courage of the gardener struck an attender chord in his heart. Once upon a time, Emperor Jahangir loved a gardener's daughter, Anarkali, who was courageous enough to stand up to his father and defend her love. He, therefore, restored the water supply from the same stream that fed his own royal garden, Shalimar.

4 Cheshma Shahi Garden “The Royal Spring”

This was built by Shah Jahan (Emperor Jahangir's son) in l642. It's known as “Royal Spring' due to the mineral-rich spring water that feeds the watercourses. The source of this water emerges within a pavilion at the top of the garden. Many visitors to these gardens believe in the healing properties of this water and come here to the source to drink.

5 Nasim Bagh Garden

Nasim Bagh (Garden of the Morning Breeze) is Open every day during university hours, free. This garden was founded by the Mughal Emperor Akbar The Great' who conquered Kashmir in 1586. It is a veritable forest of Chinars 1200Chinars were laid out at the time-located at what is now the University of Kashmir. When visiting the shrine at Hazratbal take a stroll through the markets toward the university, walk around until you hit the Zain-ud-Din Memorial gate (opposite the brightly colored blue and white tomb of former chief minister Sheikh Abdullah 'the Lion of Kashmir) and reveal in the beauty of so many majestic trees in one place. If you happen to be in Srinagar in autumn, be sure to put in a visit here, the myriad shades of red and orange leaves of so many trees in one place is an effect like wildfire. 

6 Harwan Garden

Harwan Garden is not a garden created by the ubiquitous Mughals, but it is a relaxing place to visit and drop your feet in the cool water on a hot summer's day. There is a stream running through the middle and massive trees under which you can sip cool beverages. You can reach here after visiting the Harwan archaeological site. 

7 Badam Bagh Garden “Almond Garden” 

Also known as Bagi-Waris Khan. A Secret of the Srinagar locals, BadamBagh is another beautiful Kashmiri Garden although not built nor modeled on the Mughal style. It is located in the old city in the locality of Kathi Darwaza Hawal near the Psychiatric hospital. Filled with rows of beautiful almond trees and flower-filled beds, it is a lovely place to relax and enjoy the sweet air of Kashmir. A trip to this garden can be coupled with a visit to the small and peaceful Tibetan Muslim colony of Hawal, a troll through the old city, or a visit to the Shia religious places and artisans near Alamgiri Bazaar.

8 Botanical Garden 

These gardens lay at the foot of the Pari Mahal Mughal garden. The botanical garden has a pleasing water feature and is spacious and bright. You will always find couples here in the secret tete-a-tete. This garden has thousands of tree species and has a big artificial lake too.  

9 Nehru Park Dal Gate 

Nehru Park is located inside The famous Dal lake in the name of pandit Jawahar lal Nehru who was the first Prime minister of India. This park is on a small round shaped island just beside the famous Boulevard dal gate road, Nehru park has a swimming pool, & Pool has Dal Lake itself its water source. Nowadays authorities do not allow anyone to swim, (As it is not safe for swimming as well as this location is a public place. This place has boating facilities (Shikaras) to reach and a small park for picnics, there is a restaurant where you could buy & enjoy meals on order. Boulevard road is one of the busiest roads in the Kashmir valley. On its bank, there are plenty of hotels where a traveler or a guest makes his/her stay & most hotels are 3 Star category, and a few 4 Star.

On another side of the road there are many Ghats (Stands for Shikaras) waiting for you to enjoy a shikara ride & best time is sunrise/sunset which adds beauty to dal lake. Coordinates: 34°5'24"N 74°50'44"E.

10 Tulip Garden Srinagar

Kashmir Tulip Garden is called “Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden”, Erlier Model Floriculture Center Kashmir, and it is a tulip garden located in Srinagar, Kashmir, India. It is the largest tulip garden in the Asia continent and has spread over an area of about 74 acres of land. It is situated under the foot side of the Zabarwan range of mountains, built on a sloping ground in a terraced fashion consisting of seven terraces if you manage to go up, then you would be able to see the Dal Lake view. It was opened in the year 2007 to boost floriculture tourism in the Kashmir Valley. earlier it was called Siraj Bagh. Around more than a million million tulip bulbs get cultivated every year, all in different colors, like (Pink, Violet, White, Yellow, Red, and many more) Besides tulips, there are many varieties of flowers, including hyacinths, daffodils, and ranunculus which were brought from Holland. The tulip garden is home to around 68 varieties of tulips. The tulip festival is celebrated in the month of April every year, This year 2023 it has been opened before its time (on 19 Mar). The Tulip festival is an annual Spring festival to increase tourism by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.

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